Pitchblende was a four-piece art-punk band from Washington, DC, featuring Justin Chearno on guitar, Scott DeSimon on bass, Patrick Gough on drums, and Treiops Treyfid on guitar. Between 1991 and 1995, the group recorded three full-length albums and several singles for independent labels Cargo, Jade Tree, Matador Records

Matador Records

Matador Records is an independent record label, with a roster of indie rock artists and bands.-History:Matador was started by Chris Lombardi in 1989 in his New York City apartment. The following year, Lombardi was joined by former Homestead Records manager Gerard Cosloy, and the two of them have...

, and Simple Machines

Simple Machines

Simple Machines was a record label that operated out of Arlington, Virginia. The label was masterminded by Jenny Toomey and Kristin Thomson and, at its peak, had four paid workers- Toomey, Thomson, Pat Graham and Mickey Menard...

.

Style

Although based in Washington, DC, Pitchblende's dense, angular sound was commonly thought to be closer in style to contemporary music scenes in New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 and Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

 than what one would hear on DC-based post-punk

Post-punk

Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...

 labels at the time. Central to Pitchblende's approach was an emphasis on experimentation and dynamics

Dynamics (music)

In music, dynamics normally refers to the volume of a sound or note, but can also refer to every aspect of the execution of a given piece, either stylistic or functional . The term is also applied to the written or printed musical notation used to indicate dynamics...

; the band's songs often featured complex structures, unusual arrangements, alternate tunings, and jarring time changes.

Pitchblende's recordings and loud, energetic live shows earned them critical accolades and comparisons with influential bands such as Mission of Burma

Mission of Burma

Mission of Burma is an American post-punk band formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1979. The band was formed by Roger Miller , Clint Conley , Peter Prescott and Martin Swope...

 and Sonic Youth

Sonic Youth

Sonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...

. The group melded together the chaotic spirit of punk

Punk ideology

Punk ideologies are a group of varied social and political beliefs associated with the punk subculture. In its original incarnation, the punk subculture was primarily concerned with concepts such as rebellion, anti-authoritarianism, individualism, free thought and discontent...

 with an absurdist

Absurdism

In philosophy, "The Absurd" refers to the conflict between the human tendency to seek value and meaning in life and the human inability to find any...

, dada

Dada

Dada or Dadaism is a cultural movement that began in Zurich, Switzerland, during World War I and peaked from 1916 to 1922. The movement primarily involved visual arts, literature—poetry, art manifestoes, art theory—theatre, and graphic design, and concentrated its anti-war politics through a...

 aesthetic; somewhat pop sensibilities; and a musical proficiency informed by prog-rock bands. In spite of occasional references to being inspired by jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

, very little of Pitchblende's music was improvisational. This misconception prompted the band to cheekily rename itself The Pitchblende Quartet for its final 1995 album Gygax!

Breakup

Despite extensive touring and prolific recorded output, Pitchblende remained largely a favorite of critics and college radio. After a disastrous final US tour in 1994 when the band's gear was stolen in San Francisco and DeSimon was jumped and beaten up in New Mexico

New Mexico

New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...

, Chearno and DeSimon moved to Brooklyn

Brooklyn

Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...

 where they formed the three piece instrumental band Turing Machine

Turing Machine (band)

Turing Machine is an instrumental rock band formed in New York City in 1998 by Justin Chearno and Scott DeSimon, late of DC's noise-rockers Pitchblende and Gerhardt 'Jerry' Fuchs, who had moved to New York to play with Bitch Magnet guitarist Jon Fine's new band, Vineland...

. Chearno also went on to form the bands Doldrums

Doldrums

The doldrums is a colloquial expression derived from historical maritime usage for those parts of the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean affected by the Intertropical Convergence Zone, a low-pressure area around the equator where the prevailing winds are calm...

 and Panthers

Panthers (band)

Panthers is an American rock band from Brooklyn, New York. The Village Voice described them as "groundbreaking dissonant HC with Rolling Stones swagger." Three members were previously in the hardcore band Orchid. Panthers have released four records. The most recent two, The Trick and Things Are...

. These days, Chearno works in the wine industry in New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 between recording and touring. DeSimon is a magazine editor. Gough is an urban planner in Northern Virginia

Northern Virginia

Northern Virginia consists of several counties and independent cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia, in a widespread region generally radiating southerly and westward from Washington, D.C...

 who currently plays in Imperial China, and Treyfid is a Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

-based fine artist, solo musician, and graphic designer.

Discography

• Sum/Lacquer Box 7", Landspeed - LS001, February 1992

• The Weed Slam EP 7" - "Weed Slam"/"Ask Rexella"/"Ursa Minor", Jade Tree - JT1008, October 1992

• Kill Atom Smasher CD/LP, Cargo - Fist12, April 1993

• Penny for the Guy Working Holiday Split 7" (with Swirlies), Simple Machines - WH11, November 1993

• "Psychic Power Control"/"In the Flat Field" 7", Cargo - Fist15, May 1994

• Au Jus CD/CS, Cargo - Fist22, June 1994
• Au Jus CD/LP, Matador (Europe) - Ole 102, April 1995

• "Nine-Volt"/"Karoshi" 7" (alternate versions), Pushead Fan Club limited/signed run of 400, September 1994

• Windshield Kiss split 7" (with Eggs), Jade Tree - JT-16, November 1995

• Gygax! CD, Cargo - HED-048, February 1996
• Gygax! CD/LP, Matador (Europe) - Ole 190, April 1996

Compilations

• Drop In the Big Drink Split 7" (with Rocket from the Crypt, Rodan, and Walleye), Compulsive - COMP12, October 1993

• Chairman of the Board - Frank Sinatra Tribute, Double CD, "Here's to the Losers", Grass/Dutch East - GROW1212-2, Spring 1995

• Working Holiday!
  Working Holiday!
  Working Holiday! is a CD album released on the Simple Machines label. It is a compilation of tracks by American indie bands which were originally released on a series of 12 7" singles by Simple Machines as part of the Working Holiday monthly record club starting from December 1992. Each song was...
  
  Double CD, "Penny for the Guy" 7" version and a live recording of "Flax" at the Working Holiday Festival, January 1994, Simple Machines - SMR 26, December 1994

• WGNS Gots No Station Compilation, "Sideling Hill" (alternate version), 1994

• Jade Tree First Five Years, "Windshield Kiss" 7", 2000